Anchoring device

ABSTRACT

An anchoring device comprising an elongated member, a plurality of inclined lateral vanes extending from said elongated member adjacent a first ground penetrating end thereof, said vanes each forming an acute angle with the axis of said elongated member and being provided with a weakened portion intermediate its length whereby rotation of said elongated member after insertion in the ground will result in the bending of said vanes and head means on the second end of said elongated member for enabling the rotation of said member.

ilmted States Patent 1 1 3,769,768 Bertrand Nov. 6, 1973 [54] ANCHORINGDEVICE 3,302,347 2/1967 Jackson 52/154 a 3,330,632 7 1967 De Moor 52 160x [761 Inventor: Jean Jacques Bertrand 3,685,237 8/1972 Johnson 52/9811, Rue de Breban 51, H 7 g a WWW Primary ExaminerPrice C. Faw, Jr. 2 2]Filed: May 24, 1972 AttorneyDavid S. Fishman et al.

[21] App]. No.: 256,439

[57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data An anchoring devicecomprising an elongated member, May 25 1971 France 71 l8762 a pluralityihchhed lateral "ahes extending fwm said elongated member adjacent afirst ground penetrating 521 US. Cl 52/154 52/98 52/127 end that, said"ants each fmmihg acute angle 51 Int. Cl E626 5/80 with the axis 0f saidehhgated member and being [58] Field of Search 52/154 153 165 vided witha weakened P intermediate its length 52/155 156 57 158 159 wherebyrotation ofsaid elongated member after insertion in the ground willresult in the bending ofv said 7 g vanes and head 'means on the secondend of said elon- [56] References Cited gated member for enabling therotation of said mem- UNITED STATES PATENTS Rl0,366 8/1883 Oliver 52 1541 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures 841,812 1/1907 Pement 52/157 mlLINCHORINGDEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The presentinvention relates to anchoring devices adapted to be driven into theground for the purpose of providing boundary markings, points ofattachment for guy wires and other similar purposes. Accordingly, thegeneral objects of the present invention are to provide novel andimproved apparatus of such character.

2. Description of the Prior Art Numerous ground engaging anchor devicesare known in the art. One of the more popular previously availabledevices includes a rod bent helically; the device being driven into theground by rotation about the longitudinal axis of the helix. An anchorof the helical type is quite difficult to accidentally withdraw from theground but suffers from the drawback of requiring a comparatively longtime to insert in the ground.

Devices easier to install than the previously described helical anchorshave been proposed. A number of such devices comprise a rod having,adjacent the end which is driven into the ground, a plurality ofoutwardly extending studs or vanes. Anchors characterized by vanes maybe installed more easily than the devices which have to be rotated butsuffer from the disadvantage that the laterally extending parts disturbthe ground as the device is driven into the ground and accordingly thedevices may be withdrawn with comparative ease.

Anchor devices are also known wherein the main rod portion is providedwith pivotal lateral projections in the vicinity of the leading end.These projections are designed to spread outwardly when an attempt ismade to withdraw the anchor thereby enhancing the anchor-- ing effect.Devices with the movable projections possess the inherent disadvantagesthat they are comparatively expensive, when compared to other devicesfor performing the same function, and after the devices have beeninstalled for a period of time soil tends to clog the joints therebypossibly preventing the spreading'of the projections when thewithdrawing force is applied. Additionally, such devices must beextracted a limited distance in order to obtainmaximum retention effectfrom the movable projections thereby permitting, at the very least, adegree of vertical movement which may be undesirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the abovebriefly discussed and other deficiencies and disadvantages of the priorart by providing a novel and improved an-' choring device which is easyto use, economic to produce and which will resist considerable tractivestress without being pulled from the ground. In accomplishing the aboveobjectives the present invention comprises an elongated member having afirst end which will be driven into the ground. The elongated member,adjacent its ground penetrating end, is provided with a plurality oflateral vanes which are oriented so as to define acute angles with theaxis of the member at the side thereof which terminates in the secondend. The'inclined vanes are each provided with a weakened portion whichfacilitates the bending of the vanes at a point intermediate theirlength. The second or head end of the elongated member, which is engagedby a suitable tool or object to drive the device into the ground, isfurther provided with means which enable the member to be engaged by atool in order to rotate the elongated member about its axis after it hasbeen driven into the ground to the desired depth.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the devices of the presentinvention are driven into the ground by striking the second or upper endwith a suitable weighted object. Thereafter the elongated member portionof the devices are engaged by a suitable tool and rotated through anangle of approximately 90. During rotation the inclined vanes will besubjected to considerable strain and will bend about the weakened pointintermediate their length. The bending action will result in the upperportions of the vanes spreading out transversely to the axis of theelongated member thereby providing means which will resist considerabletractive stresses attempting to withdraw the device from the ground.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the weakened part of each ofthe vanes defines a line which forms an obtuse angle with the axis ofthat portion of the elongated member located to the second or head endside of the vanes. Accordingly, by providing the vanes with sufficientlength, upon rotation the free ends of the vanes will come to restagainst the adjacent vanes after the elongated member has been rotated.Accordingly, when a vertical tractive force is applied the vanes will besupported on one another and will be unable to bend any further aboutthe weakened portions. In accordance with the preferred embodiment eachvane will be comprised of a flat metal bar with the weakened portionwhich enables the vanes to be bent over after installation consisting ofat least one notch provided along an edgeof each bar.

The elongated member portion of the devices of the present invention maybe comprised of the tubular element open at both ends. If such a tubularelement is employed the device may be inserted into the ground with theaid of a pointed bar which is inserted through the tubular element andextends beyond the first end thereof. The device is installed bystriking the head portion of the pointed bar whereby the pointed endproduces a preliminary'or pilot hole which facilitates the penetrationof the ground. The use of a tubular elongated member and pointed rod isparticularly advantageous when the anchoring devices are to be installedin rocky ground.

- ing a pair of holes located apart. This enables the rotationalmovement to be imparted to the anchoring device by means of a simplelever which is provided, adjacent one of its ends, with two parallelradial points designed to interact with the holes in the head of theelongated member.

The present invention also encompasses a tool for use in theinstallation of embodiments of the anchoring devices which arecharacterized by an elongated member comprised of a tubular element. Theinstallation tool comprises the aforementioned pointed bar which isprovided with a detachable coaxial handle at its other or head end. Thisarrangement permits insertion of the anchoring device into the ground bycausing the bar to slide alternately in one direction and then in theother with the point on the bar producing a preliminary hole in theground on each downward movement while the head, when contacting theupper end of the anchoring device elongated member, pushes the anchoringdevice vertically downwards. The tool may also include a bent socketadapted as a first end to be engaged by the elongated member and, at itsother end, being provided with the two parallel radial points designedto interconnect with the holes in the head of the anchoring device toachieve rotation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The present invention may be betterunderstood and its numerous objects and advantages will become apparentto those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawingwherein like reference numerals refer to like elements in the severalfigures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the anchoring device of FIG. 1 installedin the ground;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional side elevation view of a secondembodiment of the inventiondepicting a tool utilized in the installationof the device; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3, FIG. 4 showingthe tool by which the device may be rotated after installation in theground.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first simultaneouslyto FIGS. 1 and 2, a first embodiment of the invention comprises anelongated rod 1 terminating at one end in a head 2 of squarecross-section. The opposite end 3 of rodl is, as shown in FIG. 2, theend which is adapted to be driven into the ground. In the vicinity ofend 3 the rod is provided with four vanes 5 which are welded onto thelateral wall of rod 1. Vanes S consist of flat metal bars arranged insuch a manner that the angle a which they form with the rod portion tothe head side of .their points of attachm'ent will be an acute angle.

Each of vanes 5 is provided, on two opposite edges at a pointintermediate its length, with notches 6 which define a zone of reducedresistance c around which the free ends 7 of the vanes can bend. Thesezones c of reduced resistance define lines which form an obtuse angle bwith the portion of rod 1 to the head side of the vanes.

The anchoringdevice of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 is driven intothe ground to the desired depth, which will be commensurate with a pointintermediate the length of rod 1, by striking the head 2 with a suitableweighted object. After the device has been inserted in the ground therod is caused to rotate about its own axis by means of a tool such aswrench 8 fitted with a long handle 9. During rotation, which should bethrough an angle of approximately 90, the free end portions 7 of thevanes are subjected to greater lateral force than the parts of the vaneswhich are supported on the rod since the end portions 7 are further awayfrom the axis of rotation and thus have to move over a greater distance.The vanes 5 accordingly tend to bend and, due to the presence of thenotches 6, the free ends 7 will be bent over comparatively easily. Thebending over of the ends 7 of vanes 5 reduces the force required forrotation of the device and will result in the ends 7 spreading out in adirection which is substantially transverse to the axis of rod 1. Byproper positioning of the notches 6 and selection of the length of thevanes 5 the free ends of the vanes 7 will come to rest against thebending zones 0 of the adjacent vanes as shown in FIG. 2. In thisposition the device will offer considerable resistance to any forcetending to pull it out of the ground and the device can be applied to anumber of purposes such as, for example, the anchoring of guy wires.

With reference now to FIGS. 3 and 4, an embodiment of the inventionparticularly well suited for use by surveyors for marking boundaries isshownsThe boundary marker embodiment comprises a tubular member 11provided'with vanes 12 adjacent its leading end. As in the embodiment ofFIGS. 1 and 2, the vanes 12 of FIG. 3 are provided with notches 13 at anintermediate point along their length. The upper end of tubular member11 is integral with a spherical cap 14 provided with a pair ofoppositely disposed holes 15. The boundary marker device is designed tobe driven into the ground with the aid ofa bar 16 having a pointed lowerend 17. The upper end of bar 16 defines a head 18 which is comparativelyheavy and coaxially prolonged by a tenon 19. One end ofa handle member20 is fitted on tenon 19 and these elements are thereafter assembled bya pin 21 which is passed through aligned holes in tenon 19 and hole. 20.The bar 16 is slightly longer than tubular member 11 and the boundarydevice may thus be driven into the ground by sliding the bar 16 withinmember 11 so that the point 17 of bar 16 bores a hole and the head 18,periodically impacting against the upper end of member 11, drives thedevice downwardly into the pilot hole formed by bar 16.

In order to rotate the boundary device after it has been driven to thedesired depth, the tool 22 of FIG. 4 may be employed. Tool 22 comprisesa bent sleeve defining a socket at one end which receives the end of bar16. The bent sleeve is provided with a pair of radial points 23 designedto engage the holes 15 in spherical cap 14 of member 11.

While preferred embodiments have been shown and described variousmodifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to beunderstood that the present invention has been described by way'ofillustration and not limitation.

What is claimed is:

1. An anchoring device of the type adapted to be driven into the ground,saiddevice' comprising:

an elongated tubular member open at both ends;

a plurality of inclined lateral vanes extending from said elongatedmember adjacent a first ground penetrating end thereof, said vanes eachforming an acute angle with the axis of said elongated member, each ofsaid vanes including:

a flat metal bar, said bar being provided with oppositely disposednotches in its side edges intermediate the ends of said bar for thepurpose of defining a weakened portion thereof whereby rotation of saidelongated member after insertion in the ground will result in thebending of said vanes, said weakened portion defining a line which formsan obtuse angle with said axis of said elongated member, the oppositelydisposed faces of said bar between said side edges lying entirely inparallel planes prior to rotation of said elongated member, the lengthof the portion of the bar between the weakened portion and the free endthereof being greater. than the spacing between adjacent vanes at theweakened portion thereof; and

a head on the second end'of said tubular member, said head beingprovided with a pair of holes in its upper surface, said holes beinglocated apart.

1. An anchoring device of the type adapted to be driven into the ground,said device comprising: an elongated tubular member open at both ends; aplurality of inclined lateral vanes extending from said elongated memberadjacent a first ground penetrating end thereof, said vanes each formingan acute angle with the axis of said elongated member, each of saidvanes including: a flat metal bar, said bar being provided withoppositely disposed notches in its side edges intermediate the ends ofsaid bar for the purpose of defining a weakened portion thereof wherebyrotation of said elongated member after insertion in the ground willresult in the bending of said vanes, said weakened portion defining aline which forms an obtuse angle with said axis of said elongatedmember, the oppositely disposed faces of said bar between said sideedges lying entirely in parallel planes prior to rotation of saidelongated member, the length of the portion of the bar between theweakened portion and the free end thereof being greater than the spacingbetween adjacent vanes at the weakened portion thereof; and a head onthe second end of said tubular member, said head being provided with apair of holes in its upper surface, said holes being located 180* apart.